Angel *currently being edited because I started writing this when I was younger*

11- Another of her kind

My eyes are screwed shut. It's a poor attempt to block out the shouting and the occasional thud of objects being thrown and smashed. I pray in my mind that he won't come up here. I know he will. He always does.

I hear my mother scream. He hit her. Again. I hear her whimper and then a loud thud. She's on the floor, I know it. The stairs creak and instantly, I get goosebumps.  Maybe if I pretend I'm asleep he'll leave me alone. He stumbles into my room, the door slamming against the wall as he enters.

"Ali..." he whispers.

I don't respond. He nudges my head with what feels like a bottle. I remain still, breathing calmly.

"Ali, I know you're not asleep you little slut" he spits in my ear.

I flinch at what he calls me, and he laughs to himself, he knew I would react. I then feel his hand in my hair, he strokes it gently, and my body goes rigid.

He sings an old nursery rhyme.

"There was a lady all skin and bone;

Sure such a lady was never known :

It happen'd upon a certain day,

This lady went to church to pray."

His fingers wrapped around my hair and pulled tightly, making tears prickle at my eyes.

"When she came to the church stile,

There she did rest a little while ;

When she came to the churchyard,

There the bells so loud she heard."

I hear the doorbell ring and he drags me by my hair from my bed, I cry out in pain. He continues down the stairs, and I stumble down them.

"When she came to the church door,

She stopt to rest a little more ;

When she came the church within,

The parson pray'd 'gainst pride and sin."

We come to the bottom of the stairs and he throws me roughly to the ground, I land on my hands and knees, my skin now carpet burnt.

"On looking up, on looking down,

She saw a dead man on the ground ;

And from his nose unto his chin,

The worms crawl'd out, the worms crawl'd in."

I look down at my mother, bruises scattered her body. I notice purple hand marks on her wrists and neck. My father continues to sing, and walks to the front door.

"Then she unto the parson said,

Shall I be so when I am dead :

O yes ! O yes, the parson said,

You will be so when you are dead."

I hear him open the door, and heavy footsteps enter. Out calls a familiar, gruff voice, finishing the last line.

"Here the lady screams."

I scream at the man before me, and he laughs. My father's friend, I hear how he talks about me. This disgusting man, he's come for me. I back away from him on my hands and knees, trying to get to the bathroom. 

He grabs me.

Times stops for a second.

His hold is gentle, his hands are soft. It seems almost comforting, but there must be more to it.

"She's all yours!" My father laughs harshly.

His friend places money in his hands, and picks me up, taking me upstairs. Why did he pay him? My mind comes to a slow but horrifying realisation. This man is going to have his way with me. At once I start clawing and him in an attempt for him to let go of me. He still holds me firmly, even as one of my scratches draw blood.

My door creaks open, and he closes it behind us. His previously heavy footsteps are now light, and he lays me gently down on my bed. 

"You're safe now child." His soft voice washes over me like an undulating wave.

I look at him with newfound curiosity, observing the slight glow of his skin. I find it tempting to reach up and touch his face, but I don't.

"I'm never safe." I whisper, now looking away from him, still expecting the worst.

I hear him sigh and feel the side of my bed dip as he sits down. His hand comes to my knotted hair, just like my father's had done, and he strokes it lightly, soothingly. My body tenses like before, I'm waiting for him to take hold of it and pull...but he doesn't.

"Why are you here?" I ask in a barely audible voice.

"Because you need saving." He whispers in an equally hushed voice against my ear.

Ali opened her eyes. It was dark in the dormitory, and the soft snores of her friends filled her ears. After the contact with Eloise, she had been having flashbacks. This was recent though, only from the other month. That man, she found herself trusting him more and more.

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